Pages

Monday, March 1, 2010

Get Your Scissors Sharpened! (Seriously, Do It!)

I took this picture outside of a quaint little Chelsea shop called Henry Westpfal, which specializes in sharpening scissors and knives. (Hence the big scissors outside. Go figure.) Sometimes I think we really do have everything in New York.So you know how sewing guides always tell you to get your scissors sharpened regularly? So . . . does anyone actually do that? I know I don't. I bought my pair of Ginghers when Jeff and I were first dating, i.e. seven years ago. And haven't had them sharpened since. Of course, they were in terrible shape - they didn't really cut fabric so much as shred it. But sharpening them was one of those things I never seemed to get around to. Until now, my friends!

I finally got so fed up with their condition that I bit the bullet and did it. I came across Henry Westpfal through some creative Googling, and they were awesome. They turned the scissors around in a day and when I came to pick them up they brought out some scrap fabric for me to test them out on. Oh my goodness, they cut that fabric like buttah! The fee was around $8.00 with tax. And having sharp scissors has totally changed my attitude about cutting patterns out! It's actually fun now.

So, do you have your scissors regularly sharpened? I highly recommend that you do it! Even if you don't have a special sharpening place like Henry Westpfal, you can take your scissors to anyplace that does knife sharpening. Ask around at cooking shops like Williams Sonoma if you're not sure where to start. Also, Gingher services their scissors for a charge of $7.50, which includes return shipping (see here for more details).

55 comments:

I've got some old pinking shears I'd like sharpened and I've often wondered whether that was possible. They were given to me by a friend and belonged to his mum. They're so heavy and blunt that I get RSI whenever I use them!

They can be sharpened if there is a lap line on the teeth. There should be two colors shiny on the bottom and darker on the top. See on youtube sharpening pinking scissors with a twice as sharp machine. You would have to send them in to a sharpener or maybe someone locally can do it for you.

They can be sharpened if there is a lap line on the teeth. There should be two colors shiny on the bottom and darker on the top. See on youtube sharpening pinking scissors with a twice as sharp machine. You would have to send them in to a sharpener or maybe someone locally can do it for you.

I hadn't sharpened my Ginghers in 10 years, but recently got them sharpened at Sew Right in Queens while I was there taking a serger class. Harvey charges just $4 and he had them back to me in an hour. They are SO sharp now!

I have 3 pairs of Gingher scissors (tailor points and 2 left handed dressmaker shears) and I get them sharpened once a year. I have to send mine off to to the company itself, and I need to do it to the tailor points, but they get them annually. I use one pair of dressmakers for 6 months, then the other one. The tailors I use for fine cutting and general sewing work (thread snipping, at the machine, etc.) I probably need a second pair of those, but I can't find them anymore.

When they no longer cut like butter, off they go. I did cheap scissors for years, and never will do so again.

They can be sharpened. Talked to your hair stylist to see if they know of a sharpener. A good sharpener will be able to tell you if your pinking shears can be sharpened or not. Get out of the habit of throwing things away when they can be refurbished with very little cost. Plus you will help your local sharpener keep his or her business running. Good luck!

I've been meaning to get mine done for a while - thanks for reminding me! We have sharpeners for our sheep-shearing shears, and my boyfriend has offered to do them, but I'm not sure I'd trust him with them lol!

My Ginghers always need sharpening before my Mundials, and I use them less often! Love those Mundials! Pinking shears can only be sharpened so much, and then they're only good for paper (umm... scrapbooking?), unless you like that chewed-fabric look. I love Newman's in W.Springfield MA.

I'm a costume shop manager for a university in Pennsylvania as well as for a summer theatre festival and we go though a LOT of scissors. I always use Ginghers (except with the beginner sewers who use cheap scissors which get replaced every year). Twice a year I send half a dozen pairs to the company to have them sharpened and rebalanced for only about $7.50/pair. I would suggest to any sewer to have two pairs of scissors--you can have a pair at home while the others are being sharpened. Gingher will sharpen and balance any of the scissors they sell--even the pinking shears.

Ah Gertie, you always have such timely posts! I have been meaning to have my scissors sharpened (along with our kitchen knives!), and keep forgetting every time JoAnns has the visiting sharpener there. I need to figure out the next time he'll be sharpening things, as I can tell my Ginghers are a bit dull (it's been a good 3 years since the last sharpening!). ;)

I really like the two pair idea that some commenter's mentioned; I might have to start thinking about keeping a back up pair handy!

Oh, you have reminded me--I haven't sharpened my Ginghers in years. I keep meaning to do it, but I have to take them to a place I've never been to before--well, now I've looked up their address and I have no more excuse. My fabric thanks you.

Thank you for the link to Gingher's - I had no idea they offered that service. I have a pair of thread snips that chew thread more than anything else, and I was reluctant to have it sharpened at Joanns. Now I have a more confidence-inspiring alternative!

PS Same for kitchen knives - DO sharpen them regularly! It is safer, too.

I have a pair of KAI sheers. After years of heavy use they are not dull at all and they cut all the way to the very tip. I believe they are plated with tungsten or palladium. Getting your scissors sharpened is a pretty good deal, but I'm super happy with my KAIs. They cost $16.00 about 8 years ago.

i don't think i've sharpened mine since i got them in college which was- gasp!- over 20 years ago. they still seem pretty sharp but i'm sure if i got them sharpened i would see how un-sharp they are! could this be why i hate cutting?

I use my Wusthof sharpener I use for my knives for my scissors too. It works pretty well, but my pinking shears are another matter entirely. I've had them since I was a kid and hence they've been through many icky craft projects and they chew through fabric in a rather unlovely way. I always procrastinate on matters that I find annoying, so I bought a pinking blade for my Olfa to avoid having my pinking shears sharpened.

I do actually get my scissors sharpened regularly. Well I do now. I was like you, and hadn't had them sharpened since I first bought them. They wouldn't cut anything. The problem is, it takes a week to get them done! I hate that. So I have a back up pair. Can't live without a good pair of shears. Just can't. I think they are one of THE most important dressmaking tools out there.

For any readers in London, I know MacCulloch & Wallis (on Dering Street, just off Oxford Street) sharpen shears, too. I view pinking shears as largely disposable (and I don't use them that often anyway), but the gorgeous, weighty tailor's shears my sister-in-law gave me that were her grandmother's? oh my. I just love using those and you'd better believe I'll get them sharpened when they eventually fade.

Wow, thanks for that link! My local Joann's offers occasional sharpening, but the guy only comes during business hours so I can't make it. I actually bought a cheapie pair of scissors to use b/c my Ginghers are so dull. I'm mailing mine off tomorrow!

I don't think I've ever gotten mine sharpened and it is WAY past time. Haven't found a convenient place in Atlanta yet, and don't trust Joanns, besides never being around there on the Saturday the guy shows up.

And my pinking shears, hahahahahaha. I don't think they would even cut paper.

I haven't ever sharpened mine, but I don't use them that often (I'm a rotary cutter fan.) But my pinking shears? Before I got a serger I used them on nearly every seam, and they are awful! I didn't know Gingher would take the pinking shears, I may have to send them in!

I use the fiskars black and grey handled Easy Action Bent scissors and I LOVE them! I got this sharpener for them:Clip-Sharp scissor sharpenerIt works great!Now I need to figure out how to sharpen my thread snips...

Very timely post! I just noticed yesterday how very dull certain parts of the blades on my Fiskars are. Time to get out my Wustoff!

I have also found the cheap little sharpener for rotary blades handy for getting a little more life out of my rotary blades. It looks like a funny puzzle to put together, but it works ok for "touch-up" sharpening.

oh man! i LOVE getting my ginghers sharpened... they are so smooth and make fabric cutting fun :D we don't have a scissor sharpening store here where i live, but there is a booth at the local flea market that offers scissor sharpening for $5. love it!

Shannie thankyou for posting about your Easy Action Fiskars and the sharpener you got- I am a Fiskars girl too. I love the vintagey look of Ginghers and Mundial scissors but I find them so heavy to use!! The Fiskars are great, and when I was at fashion school EVERYONE wanted to use them instead of theirs (which was kinda annoying!). I have never sharpened them in six years because they haven't seemed to need it but I am curious to get the sharpener and see!

Yeah, I should get my scissors sharpened, too. They still work quite well, so I am too lazy to actually part with them to get them sharpened.Although I sharpen my knifes myself, I would not recommend sharpening your scissors yourself because the cut is not straight like with knifes, but kind of curved. (Don't know how to explain it better, but if you close your scissors and look at them from above you will see a gap in the middle where they won't touch each other). So it would be better to let pro's do the work.

We cut A LOT of fabric here at the studio, and as a little christmas present to ourselves, we got all our shears sharpened! Now we get a little shiver of delight when we easily slice through even the heaviest canvas! *joy!*xx Teegs

several people commented on how to sharpen pinking shears in the comments above, so i thought id speak up for once and share my insight lol! from what i was told at britex fabrics in san fran is that its difficult to sharpen pinking shears. hence why it is cheaper to buy a new pair than get them sharpened.

I have had sharpening my scissors on my To Do list for a little while now. I have had them done and the difference is amazing! It really is a must to have both your knives and scissors sharpened every 6-12 months by a professional. Now I just have to get off my bum and do it!

I have scissors sharpening machine, but I still do use like I should. I tend to buy a new pair when Joann's has a 50% sale. My Gingers I don't use as much as I should. I use to be go about having my scissors sharpened when I lived in NYC, because yes,,, Everything is there. But you known I should not complain because there is a man at the farmers market that sharpens knives and scissors. NO EXCUSE!

Sharpening things, on the other hand, is easy. For reasons that I've never understood, many Americans have a horrible fear of sharpening things. It's not rocket science. Little demons don't appear and steal your first born child if your technique isn't perfect.

Straight edged shears (most sorts of sewing scissors, besides pinking shears) are very easy. It takes almost no equipment, and is quite forgiving of less than perfect technique.

As for getting pinking shears sharpened, you need to find someone who either sharpens them by hand (expensive to pay a professional to do), find someone who has a machine that will do them, or send them to the manufacturer (which is a variant of option two.). Many of sharpeners that make appearances at sewing stores simply have bought a machine, watched the video that came with it, and hang out their shingle to ruin shears. If it doesn't fit their machine, they can't do it. Someone like the people Gertie went to, who have an actual place of business, are a much better bet.

When I first got my Ginghers I was told only to take them to a cutlery shop to have them sharpened. So I did...about once over 10 years! Two years ago I just broke down and took them to JoAnn's and last year brought them to the farmer's market. Don't know that I trust either of them for quality, but I had sharp shears the same day I dropped them off!

I have my scissors sharpened regularly. I live in the country where there are no fabric stores, no sewing stores, nothing. Recently, in the middle of nowhere, a quilting shop opened and it operates 7 days! They have a wonderful man who repairs machines and another who sharpens scissors. I have two pairs of identical scissors and a cheaper back up pair that I cycle regularly. About yearly they go in for a 'service' and it makes the world of difference. I have about ten pairs of thread snips that get moved from active duty at the machine to less active duty by the ironing board and then into semi retirement for making triangles when cutting out before being relegated to the bin.

My scissors are what I can afford.... and it's Fiskers, not Ginghers. I'm not even sure if you can get Fiskers sharpened at all! Did you know that cutting through layers of tin foil can actually sharpen your scissors? I read it somewhere and tried it with an old pair and it actually works...

I keep seeing comments about JoAnn's/fabric stores...the folks that do those are not usually with the company and they have days the people show up to pick them up, it's usually some old guy who's been doing it for umpteen years, and to be honest, I'd rather give them to that guy then Gingher's.

My old guy died which is why I have to send them off. I really would rather give my 8 bucks to some old guy who sharpened knives and scissors long before I was born.

Laura, I hear you on what you can afford. For the better part of 6 months, I put non-quarters in a jar, took them to coinstar and got amazon gift certificates there EVERY WEEK, and saved for my first pair (and no one knew about it). After, I divorced the deadbeat so I was able to budget in my $25 a little better (and it STILL took me 6 months to get 2 more pairs, on sale). Scissors are one of those things that do make a world of difference in sewing, and you should get the best you can afford. If it happens to be $7 scissors, then take care of them. I knew about the tin foil trick, but be careful since it can mess up fabric.

As I child I remember my mother having a pair of scissors which I was never allowed to touch as they were her fabric scissors, once I accidentally used them to cut paper and she ran screaming across the room trying to save them from getting blunted. Caring for my fabric scissors has been drummed into me!I never thought of getting scissors professionally sharpened though.As a good temporary and immediate measure I use a wine bottle to sharpen my scissors. You just 'cut' at the neck of the bottle with the scissors and somehow it really works. I've even done it with pinking shears and it improved them for a while.

wellll...... I just got my shears back form Westphal, and I'm sad to say they do NOT cut like buttah. :( I don't know if they are even any better than they were before, although the sad bits of rust on the blades are gone and they did oil the join. We'll see how my pinking shears fare when I get them back this weds.... they were dull since I stole them form my mom 8 years ago so any improvement will be a plus.

I've been in the textiles business for over thirty years and am also a professional sharpener in Massachusetts with a KAI and Premax Scissor online store. If your scissors or pinking shears need immediate attention, you can always try the old sandpaper or aluminum tin foil temporary fix. Using either 200 -80 grit sandpaper cut through the paper with your sicssors a couple of times. The same is true for the aluminum foil except you must fold it twice. There's nothing like having your scissors professionally sharpened, but this is a temporary fix and will not harm your scissors.